Complicated
by Capricious Cirsium
Summary: What if James got expelled because of the lake incident? And Severus never called Lily a mudblood? Add blackmail, mortal enemies, teenage hormones and creepy Durmstrang teachers into the mix and you'll get quite an interesting year.
1. Chapter 1

Introduction: Another Version of the Lake Incident

"We cannot go on like this any longer. He has to own up what he has done and accept the consequences of bullying." McGonagall said. She was visibly furious.

"Yes I agree Mr. Potter has really overstepped it this time." Slughorn added. The two heads of houses stared at Dumbledore for a final decision but his face remained ever as inscrutable. The old man closed his eyes contemplating. When he finally opened them he nodded his head in acquiescence.

"I regret to say this but I see no other solution to this than to expel Mr. James Potter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." There was a silent pause as the professors looked around at each other as if to ascertain themselves that it was indeed the right thing to do. Minerva McGonagall could not remember the last time they had expelled a student.

"I know this seems harsh but we must keep in mind that this is the culmination of a _long_ history of bullying. The Slytherins would say you're playing favorites if you go easy on him."

"Yes, this way no one can make such accusations. There are some unpleasant lessons to be learned in life and I am hopeful Mr. Potter will learn from this."

…

Severus Snape collapsed into a mess of arms and legs on the floor, the adrenalin still pumping and his heart in his mouth. He didn't even feel when his knees met the hard tiles of the boys' bathroom.

"Shit!" He couldn't quite remember what had happened mere minutes ago. Potter had had him dangling in the air; a crowd had cheered him on. He had been bullied for five years but this time it had been different. It had worse. How much had they seen? How many were there looking? It wouldn't matter as it would soon be talked about by the whole school. His life at Hogwarts was officially over. How could he possibly show his face now that half the school had seen his private parts? "Shit! Shit!" He repeated. Oh, sweet Merlin how he hoped Lily hadn't been there as well. Anyone but Lily! Angry tears forced their way down his cheeks. How would he ever be able to face her again. Would she laugh at him? Damn, he pathetic all right.

Severus hugged his legs close to the body. If only he could disappear. An hour passed with only a weak stench of urine for company. Yet another one went by until:

"Severus?" The headmaster addressed him by his first name from the other side of the door. He was surprised that Dumbledore even knew his name. Severus managed a squeaky noise for answer. His throat was all dried-up.

"Severus, will you come out please." He didn't really want to leave his toilet but he couldn't exactly disobey Dumbledore. He stood up shakily in the small bathroom stall. His whole body was trembling and he couldn't tell whether it was with fury or humiliation.

"I know today has been a really tough day for you and I am very sorry about what happened. I do not want you to feel bad; that is reserved for those who watched and for Mr. Potter, they are the ones who should feel ashamed."

The headmaster spoke this softly but Severus didn't meet his gaze. His cheeks blazed again at the mention of what had taken place by the lake earlier that day. The headmaster continued:

"I take this very seriously and Mr. Potter will be punished severely. I want you to return to your common room and take some rest. If you feel the need to talk, about this or anything else, come by my office. You can always talk to Madame Pomfrey if you should feel that it is easier"

Why did professors always assume you wanted talk? Severus Snape wanted to disappear.


	2. Chapter 2

,Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling.

**Chapter 1: Consequences**

* * *

"EXPELLED?" Peter cried with disbelief. "There's just no way"

"I know. I thought we'd be in trouble but I never expected this"

"What about Sirius? Is he expelled too?" Peter's eyes were like saucers.

Remus shook his head. "He was luckier; he got away with detention" Remus sat down on his bed facing his friend.

"So how is Prongs doing?" Peter asked after a while.

"He is upset naturally but I haven't seen him since Dumbledore spoke to us" Remus answered him solemnly. "Sirius seems to be taking the news even harder though. He ran off somewhere as soon as we were done"

"What will happen to us now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Can we still be the marauders without James?" Peter stared at his feet swinging a few inches above the floor. He didn't want an answer to that.

The door grated as a tired-looking teenager stumbled in. James's hair was ruffled and his pants were grass stained.

"Prongs!" The two on the beds chorused.

"Where have you been? It's past curfew"

"Had to care of a few things before I leave, besides it's not like it matters anymore" He shrugged his shoulders.

"I can't believe they're making you leave" Peter piped. Remus sighed, some people just lacked a sense of timing.

"There's no use denying it. I think they made it very clear they don't want me here anymore." James replied. He looked so detached from the words he was saying. "I guess you'll have to do without me the next full moon. Sorry…" James said, looking apologetically at Remus.

"Don't worry about it; I'll have Peter and Sirius. Will you be all right though?" Remus voice was filled with concern.

"Yeah, I've finished all my O.W.L.s so if I behave well my dad reckons that Dumbledore will let me come back for next year." James tried to sound self-assured but was everything but. He had gone from worshipped quidditch hero to the most hated guy in school in just one day. That had to be some sort of record. Peter and Remus were watching him intently but James couldn't meet their scrutinizing eyes. The attention was beginning to make him feel very uncomfortable right now.

"I'm gonna be fine"

"School will never be the same without you" Peter declared with a hint of awe. His friend's departure would serve to reinforce the legend of James Potter, rather like when celebrities die young.

The apprehension that had previously permeated the room vanished, and James begun to prepare himself for his last night at Hogwarts. When the lights were out half an hour later, he found it very hard to fall asleep. Eventually he fell into a light, restless sleep that only lasted a few hours. Through squinting eyes James discerned a dark silhouette moving in the room. Wordlessly he reached for his bedside lamp.

"Padfoot? It's 5 o'clock in the morning!" James slipped out of his sticky warm bed. He wasn't really annoyed with his friend. In fact, he welcomed the disturbance. His sleep had been so restless anyway. Sirius was picking up things from the floor.

"Where have you been all night?" Sirius ignored his inquiry, instead he searched for something.

"Have you seen my mirror?"

"No…Are you packing?" James eyes fell on the open trunk.

"If you're leaving then so am I" Sirius answered. At that moment Sirius bore an eerie resemblance to a stubborn three-year-old.

"What are talking about? You can't leave Hogwarts. I messed up this time but it'll be fine. _You can't leave Hogwarts, okay?_" He stressed. "Moony needs you"

"School will suck without you. You can't really expect me to stay if you're going"

"Sirius, I don't want to leave Hogwarts. And I _don't want you_ to leave Hogwarts because of me, either" Sirius opened his mouth to reply but James continued. "I'll find a way to return sooner or later. I'm not going to let _him_ win" Sirius nodded in agreement.

"When you leave it'll be my pleasure to make Snivelly's life a nightmare. He'll pay for this"

"Don't" Sirius looked at him bewildered.

"Just don't do anything stupid, okay?" James sighed. Sirius muttered something James couldn't quite catch but he supposed it was as good an answer as he would get. "You cannot afford to get caught after what happened l with Moony, last year, remember?"

"Right"

When James walked down the stairs to the common room that morning a buzz spread through the room. James could feel the stares from everywhere.

"Just keep going mate, I'll hex whoever feels like making a clever remark" He heard from behind him. By the time the Marauders had reached the Great Hall their ears had grown accustomed to the whispers. James sat down all tense; he hated being an object of ridicule.

"Relax James" Sirius advised him.

James frowned. He could feel a bad head-ache creeping up on him.

"Can't everyone just shut up?" He complained, earning him a foul glare from the Hufflepuff table.

"There's no need to be cranky" Sirius said.

"Stop telling me how to act!" James hissed back at him. The whole room was eying him now. Sirius shrunk ever so slightly.

The only good thing that morning was that Evans wasn't in the Great Hall. She would absolutely loathe him once she found out about Snape. Snivellus had probably given her his version already. Just as he thought that a hand was placed on his shoulder. He turned around and found Michael Bell, captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, looking down at him.

"Hi, I just wanted to say good luck with everything"

"Thanks Michael, I appreciate it" James had to admit that he thought it a little bit weird. He hadn't really talked to Bell before and he had been solely responsible for their team losing their place in the Quidditch finale.

"I wish I you'd been able to stay for the big game and give the snakes what they deserve"

"Me too" That day just kept getting worse.

* * *

"BLACK!" Lily yelled, relieved that a Slytherin had shown up at last. She had been standing outside their common since before breakfast.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" Lily added annoyed that Regulus would try to ignore her. He looked up and approached her slowly, taking great care to ascertain that they were indeed alone in the hallway. Apparently, talking to muggle-borns wasn't part of his daily routine but Lily couldn't afford to be picky. He stopped a good distance from her. Glancing down from his superior height he put on an arrogant smirk worthy of his elder brother, the self-proclaimed king of haughtiness. It was evident he thought it a favor merely looking at her. Lily however, wasn't easily intimidated.

"Will you tell Severus that I intend to wait here until he comes out to see me? And that I'll wait all morning if I have to" Black blinked and marched through the door to the Slytherin common room, leaving no sign that he had agreed to Lily's request.

Lily let out an annoyed sigh and slumped against the cold wall. That boy was so not going to relay her message and she would be stuck in the Slytherin hallway for even longer.

Sure enough, a quarter of an hour passed without any sign of Severus. Lily's chance came when a group of girls turned the corner. She waited as they stated their password and disappeared through the door. Lily, not about to squander a good opportunity, sprinted to the door to stop it from closing. She gave the girls half a minute to disappear and peeked into the common room.

It felt mischievous sneaking into the Slytherins' common room. If McGonagall found out she would likely lose her prefect badge, but that was part of the fun, right?

Severus had described the common room to her many times before, but she had no idea it was so… dispiriting. It was significantly chillier than the Gryffindor tower and not nearly as homely. The sofas were stiff, the floorboards bare and the whole room wanted color.

On either sides of a glowing fireplace were two short corridors. One for male students and one for female, Lily assumed. She chose the corridor to the right and was surprised to find that there was more than one room labeled "Males, Fifth Years". Great, which one did Sev sleep in?

"Severus Snape, open up right now or I'll not think twice before blasting the door off!" Lily said in a loud, confident voice. Her words had their desired effect for Severus's puzzled face appeared only seconds later.

"Have you gone mad? This is the _Slytherin_ _dungeon_"

"So I've noticed" Lily smirked.

"You can't be here. It's for Slytherins"

"You just said that. Anyway, I had to see you and make sure you were okay. But if you don't want me here I can leave" Lily offered. Her heart warmed up when Severus made that barely noticeable twitch which only a selected few would recognize as a smile.

"Of course I do" A moment later someone entered the dungeon.

"Hurry inside" Severus whispered and stepped aside to let her in. Lily did as he said happily. She had been a little worried that he would reject her for fear of his friends finding out.

Once inside Lily inspected the small chamber. An array of potions in vivid colors was placed on top of a desk. Next to the flasks lay an open book with a quill on top of it. Apparently he had just been writing. That probably was a good sign, Lily thought.

"Wait, this is _your_ room?" Lily gaped at Severus in sudden realization. He confirmed it with a nod. Lily's attention went anew to the curious book on the desk. It wasn't a notebook as Lily had thought, rather an extremely messy textbook. Severus became aware of her looking at his book and snatched it away. He smiled dismissively before he placed it out of Lily's view. She blushed, she hadn't come here to snoop.

"You never told me you have your own room" Lily noted.

"And I'm required to tell you everything?" He raised one eyebrow at her. Lily looked away from his stare awkwardly, pretending to study the silver and grey wallpaper.

"Of course not. Can I sit down?" Lily sat down at the desk. She was pleased to see that Severus was his usual self. When Mary had told her about what had happened she had been so upset. She knew her best friend to be the type of person who'd fret about something forever.

A night had been more than sufficient for Severus to regain his composure. He had been embarrassed, yes, but Severus had dealt with that so many times before in his life that he could be considered an expert. What fully occupied his mind now was the girl in front of him, listening so attentively to his story. He had partly dreaded telling her. He didn't want her to know that he hadn't been able to defend himself. But on the other hand he longed to hear her scold Potter. When he had finished his story Lily couldn't hold her reaction to herself.

"He did that you?! That's outrageous!" Her animated talk was captivating. "I swear the next time I see him I'll punch right in the face" Severus couldn't help laughing.

"What?!" Lily cried indignantly. "You don't think I will?"

"It's just that I think you'd need a little more strength to do any substantial damage to his thick head"

* * *

"James?" James started a little. He was sitting on the window sill watching the panorama view of the school grounds. He would be sad to lose this.

"When are you leaving?" Remus felt bad for asking.

"My parents will be here any minute"

"There something you aren't telling us James. What did you say to Dumbledore when you talked in private?"

James tilted his head back and studied the wooden frame of the window.

"The truth more or less. I told him you and Wormtail had nothing to do with it and that Sirius only helped a little"

"So you took the blame for everything? Why?" Remus looked shocked.

"There's no way Sirius can leave Hogwarts. Remus, you know what his family's like. As for you, well you cannot be careful enough"

"But…" Remus began.

"But what? You'd do the same for me any day"

_Only_ _I'm not so sure that I would James,_ Remus thought; _I've never had your guts._

* * *

_Author's note:_

_I was so thrilled people reviewed and followed and I hope I won't disappoint you. Thank you for reading and for reviewing :)_


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